Learn More About the Roll Forming Process

Have you ever wondered how the fender on your car is manufactured? It is prepared using a technique called roll forming. Roll forming is the process of bending metal into an engineered shape by passing it through a set of consecutive rolls and stands. Each stand gives the metal an incremental bend until the desired shape is achieved.

Roll forming is an ideal technique to use when producing metal parts with long lengths in large quantities. It is also an excellent solution if you want consistency in the cross-sectional profile of a part. A number of parts can be produced through the roll forming process including bicycle rims, door frames, fence posts, auto rims, precipitation panels and more. Roll forming machines can also work in continuous cycles, allowing them to produce a high quantity of parts at high speeds. Once the metal enters the machine, it snakes through each stage of the machine until the final shape is produced.

Roll Forming takes place at room temperature and the end product requires little or no finishing. A number of metals are used in roll forming such as aluminum, copper, stainless steel and more.

What Businesses use Roll Formed Products?

Roll formed parts are used by a diverse range of businesses, including, but not limited to, those in the automobile, tool and dye, metal furniture, construction, and railway industries. There are also several different types of roll forming processes such as roll bending, flat rolling, foil rolling, ring rolling and controlled rolling.

What types of roll formed shapes are there?

Roll forming can be made to create a number of parts. The different shapes that can be produced in the roll forming process include angles, lock seam square tube, lock seam round tube, open seam tube, butt seam tube, C channels, U and J channels, and hat channels.

Where did roll forming begin and where does take place in the US?

Developed in Belgium, the rolling mill was first used in England in 1590. It was called a ‘slitting’ mill because it was used to split iron bars into rods. Richard Ford developed a crude version of the rolling mill we know now in 1766. He received a patent for his process.

Modern rolling began with Henry Cort, the owner of Funtley Iron Mills. He received a patent for the process in 1783 for pioneering the use of grooved rolls to roll iron. In 1820, John Birkenshaw managed to produce wrought iron rails which stimulated the development of the railways.

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How can roll forming services benefit your business

Roll forming machines have high productivity as compared to other manufacturing techniques.
Roll forming process can be combined with other operations in order to reduce manufacturing costs.
Roll forming reduces packaging, shipping, and handling costs.
Roll forming techniques also eliminate supplemental operations like splicing, drilling, or cutting to length.
Roll forming is aided by CAD/CAM systems. This not only helps the machines to work at their maximum potential while reducing the need for human intervention, but it also helps companies save money on manpower.
With rising industrialization in different parts of the world, the demand for roll formed products is only going to increase. Because of this the roll forming industry will continue to do well in the coming years.